Kokomo, Colorado
Posted by: 94RedRover
N 39° 24.700 W 106° 10.800
13S E 398415 N 4363125
On Highway 91 southbound, a granite pedestal stands commemorates the valley where the towns of Robinson, Kokomo and Recen stood.
Waymark Code: WM72AB
Location: Colorado, United States
Date Posted: 08/22/2009
Views: 5
"Left (straight ahead) on this road to KOKOMO, 8 m. (10, 618 alt., 44 pop.), the highest incorporated town in Colorado, formerly a gold camp. Today, it is a huddle of cabins, except for a cafe built on the hillside, down which pours a lively mountain stream. Many of the houses are collapsing under the weight of years. For the most part, the few inhabitants are prospectors whose faith in the hills has never died."
--- Colorado: A Guide to the Highest State, 1941
The marker sits on a small pull off on the southbound side of Highway 91 north of Leadville, Colorado. It overlooks a valley with beautiful scenery...and alot of history. The memorial reads:
"In this valley the towns of
Robinson, Kokomo and Recen existed.
Kokomo was the site of the
Highest Masonic Lodge In the U.S.A.
Corinthian Lodge No. 42
A.F. & A.M.
1882-1966
Elevation 10,618 feet"
The sign also has an etching of the Masonic Lodge that once stood in Kokomo.
Each of these towns, like the numerous towns around them, built up quickly when gold was discovered in "Oro City." Gold diggers and dreamers swarmed westward in the Gold rush, and these three town saw a boom in business. Once the gold and silver had run out, people left in droves, leaving these towns in desolation.